RCom and Reliance Jio will continue to be different entities: Anil Ambani

Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani said his relationship with his brother Mukesh Ambani is cordial

PTI

June 03, 2017, 10:32 IST

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani today said his relationship with his brother Mukesh Ambani is cordial and all speculations to the contrary are unnecessary even as their telecom ventures will continue to be separate entities despite business ties.

Speaking to reporters here, Ambani said, "My relationship with my brother (Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani) is cordial, meaningful and full of respect. So any speculation is completely unnecessary." The two brothers had about a decade ago divided the business empire founded by their father Dhirubhai Ambani. Replying to query on relationship between two companies, Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio, Ambani said both are separate entities and that will continue.

"We will have strategic cooperation in terms of spectrum, fibre, intra circle roaming, towers and any other areas, which can bring synergies, cost savings and that is strategic roadmap, which will continue," he said.

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The controversies, spats that shook the telecom and tech industry

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ET Telecom brings a slideshow on some of the recent controversies, spats that shook both the telecom and tech industry.

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Reliance Jios and Airtels spat over Ooklas speedtest results

Ookla had recently declared Airtel as the fastest network in India to which Jio objected, citing a technical flaw in the methodology.
Ookla however defended its speedtest results, saying that it fully stands behind the accuracy and reliability of the methodology used to assign India’s fastest mobile network’ tag to Bharti Airtel.

Jio retorted, saying Ookla's statement was an admission that its method was faulty, and hence, wasn’t foolproof.

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Oppos employee tearing up Indian national flag

Photo: PhoneRadar

​ Chinese handset maker Oppo said it has sacked an employee who “discarded the Indian flag from the table” at its Noida Sector 63 plant. Oppo said it regretted the incident, which, it said, in no way represents the company’s position. The incident triggered protests in front of the company’s Noida office, while some people took to social media to slam Oppo for its alleged anti-India actions.

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Abrupt transfer and removal of Telecom Secretary JS Deepak

JS Deepak who was associated with telecom department for almost 7 years was was removed abruptly from the position of Telecom Secretary and was shifted to the commerce ministry. He was named India’s permanent representative to the World Trade Organisation.

Photo: Livemint

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Controversy over Reliance Jios promotional offers continuing for more than stipulated period

Vodafone India alleged that Reliance has illegally provided free data to their subscribers against the guidelines of TRAI.

The company recently said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had failed to prohibit Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd's (RJIO) "blatant violation" of tariff orders, directions and regulations by permitting it to continue with its free offers.

Earlier, Bharti Airtel and Idea moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) alleging that the regulator had been a mute spectator to the gross violations committed by Reliance Jio.

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Flipkart OnePlus 3 sale

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei questioned Flipkart for running a banner on its website's homepage, suggesting availability of One-Plus 3 devices at a reduced price of around Rs 10,000 during 'Big Shopping Days' (from December 18-21) that Flipkart was gearing up for.

OnePlus has an exclusive tie-up with Amazon India.

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Reliance Jios spat with telcos over WiFi in civic spots

Reliance Jio and incumbent carriers got into a spat over the sector regulator's call for boosting broadband penetration through low-cost WiFi in public places.

While Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio has backed Trai's call for citywide WiFi networks to boost broadband penetration, the Cellular Operators Association of India -representing Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular said that WiFi technology can at best be used to provision WiFi hotspots for Internet access.

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When Reliance Jio demanded apology from COAI head

Reliance Jio sought an apology from and action against Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan S Mathews for calling it a "back-door operator". Rajan Mathewsrejected Reliance Jio 's demand for an apology. He also ruled out any immediate overhaul in the proportionate voting rules of the industry association as demanded by the Mukesh Ambani-backed 4G entrant.

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Reliance Jio, Paytm used PMs photo in advertisements, apologized later

The government had issued notices to Reliance Jio and Paytm under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of 1950, which bars use of Prime Minister's name and picture for commercial use, asking them whether they had taken prior permission to use Modi's photographs on their advertisements.

The two companies tendered their apologies for using Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture in their advertisements without permission.

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Reliance Jio PoI issue

In early August, Jio wrote letters to letters to Telecom Secretary JS Deepak and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman RS Sharma saying that incumbent telcos were deliberately not providing it adequate points of interconnection (PoIs), to terminate its calls/data, thereby forcing it to delay its commercial launch.

The company asked the government and COAI to ensure that existing players comply with licensing agreements and augment PoIs with Jio. Bharti Airtel on September13, agreed to provide additional interconnect points to Reliance Jio, saying the ports will be sufficient to support 15 million customers of the new operator. Vodafone on September 15 agreed to increase PoIs with Reliance Jio saying that it will increase the PoIs to Jio to three times in comparison to what it was providing earlier. BSNL also said it had provided "sufficient points of interconnect" to Reliance Jio and can augment it more based on requirement.

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Nokia-Apple battle

Apple pays a minimal fee to Nokia for use of its patents in cellphone technology, under a contract where Nokia wanted Apple to keep paying from the following year as well. The company wanted Apple to license even other patents and was demanding a higher sum for the same. For this, Apple accused Nokia of extortion. The fight has been going on for a couple of years with both parties filing lawsuits.

Jio’s Rs 2,399 annual plan offers 2GB per day data that costs effectively Rs 200 per month. It also offers unlimited voice and SMS. Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 2398 and Rs 2399 annual plans, on the other hand, offer 1.5GB per day data along with unlimited voice and SMS